


Why I Don’t Go Outside

by GoldieClaws



Series: Selfship Fiction - CharliexGhirahim [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Oneshot, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Original Non-Binary Character - Freeform, Other, TW - Insects
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:48:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22098943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldieClaws/pseuds/GoldieClaws
Summary: Even after living on the Surface for as many years as they’ve been alive, Charlie still has yet to learn what the most dangerous creature is, even more so than The Demon King himself:The simple and humble wasp.
Relationships: Ghirahim (Legend of Zelda)/Original Character(s)
Series: Selfship Fiction - CharliexGhirahim [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1499168
Kudos: 3





	Why I Don’t Go Outside

**Author's Note:**

> First oneshot of the New Year, yehaw! Anyway, this one is based on a dream I had (which is the latter part of the fic), with some slight irl elements from my own disastrous encounter with a wasp.  
> (Word to the wise, if one of those little bastards lands on your foot, do not wildly swing it because you will hit the leg of your computer table and also be stung in the process. How I didn’t break my toes with how hard I hit that leg, I have no idea.)  
> 

Charlie watched as Moncéri bounded off towards the clearing, chattering loudly to herself. In her wake, the trees erupted into a chorus of screeches and caws as dozens of birds were cruelly awoken from their nests by the Staldra. Charlie couldn’t help but laugh at this and the way Moncéri threw herself to the ground, rolling around in the grass like it were a new, expensive rug.

Ghirahim had been too busy with his work to take Moncéri out on her daily walk to stretch her legs, so Charlie had offered to go in his stead. Thankfully, they were already aware of the route: Go as far as the Great Tree in the middle of Faron Woods, loop around it at least once and return home.

Definitely useful for tiring out someone as active and energetic as ole Momo.

For once however, Charlie couldn’t be asked to loop around the tree and instead sat down in a patch of pink and blue flowers, sighing softly to themselves.

Their mind had been all over the place the past few days, so a few moments of peace wouldn’t hurt. Gently, they plucked a flower from the ground and examined it.

It was now just over a year and a half since Ghirahim and Izanagi had scooped them up, their relationship with the two now much better than how it had been at the start. It was certainly obvious that Ghirahim was much happier knowing he could talk to them properly and not be punched or kicked for even daring to engage them in conversation.

Never in a million years had Charlie thought they’d grow past most of their near-debilitating trust issues, but they could make one crack out of it: if they could learn to trust Ghirahim, they could trust anyone.

They put the flower to one side and picked up another, wondering if they could pick up enough to hand over to Izanagi as a surprise gift. She’d been pretty busy with some jobs Demise had assigned her, so hopefully it would help to brighten up her day.

Charlie picked the last few flowers and wandered over to a few other patches that had been spared of Moncéri’s vicious attacks on the ground around them.

Now with a decent-sized handful of flowers, Charlie admired them happily, carefully rearranging them in their hand.

Then, they felt a very slight tingling on the back of their hand.

 _Must have picked up an ant by accident._ They thought and flipped their hand over to flick it off.

Instead, they were met by a larger-than-expected, red and black wasp, calmly sitting there without a care in the world.

Out of instinct, Charlie dropped the flowers and shook their hand as viciously as they could to throw it off, only to immediately shriek when the wasp stung them back.

Charlie swore loudly, brushing it off with their free hand and jumping up and down as the sting seemed to intensify with each passing second.

In an instant, Moncéri was by their side, one head squeaking in response to Charlie’s distress and the other two stood on guard, searching the area for the villain that had dared to harm their beloved owner.

“I’m fine Moncéri.” Charlie hissed through gritted teeth, blowing cool air every now and again on their hand to try and soothe it. “Dumbass wasp got me.”

All three heads turned to face them, leaning in to get a look at the sting.

To Charlie’s annoyance it was more red and angry than they’d expected, something they’d know would be tricky to hide when they returned home. Maybe if they were lucky, Ghirahim wouldn’t be back in their shared quarters yet and they could sneak back into their own room. What exactly they would do to get rid of the pain, they had no idea. Maybe they could try and sleep it off, but even that could prove challenging. They’d been stung before as a child, but then again it hadn’t been this bad and the wasp had been yellow, not red.

Charlie looked down for the flowers they’d dropped, only to sigh angrily to themselves when they’d seen Moncéri had trampled the entire batch in her haste to get to their side.

Moncéri followed their gaze and looked down, then sheepishly stepped back, bowing her heads and purring in apology.

Charlie rolled their eyes.

“Not your fault, Momo.” They gave her a light pat on the snout. “I want to go home now, alright?”

Moncéri perked up, moving herself alongside Charlie to help support them. Charlie felt Moncéri curl her tail around them and rolled their eyes a second time.

“Don’t do that Momo.” They playfully swatted her nose. “I don’t want to go home with a wasp sting _and_ a broken arm.”

* * *

Now back home, the pain of the sting had intensified so much more, Charlie was in tears and hunched over like they’d just been punched in the stomach. They fumbled with the key a few times before finally unlocking the door to their chambers, collapsing onto their bed in a heap.

They whined softly to themselves and Moncéri joined in, carefully walking over to Charlie and sitting at the edge of the bed. She gently pressed her snouts against Charlie’s body in a vain attempt to comfort them.

God knows how long Charlie laid there in the dark, muttering all kinds of obscenities to themselves.

They’d hoped they’d fall asleep at some point or another, but the pain kept them awake for what felt like hours on end.

They felt like they were slowly going delirious from it all when finally, they heard the front door click, making them freeze.

Oh boy. Mr. Sword Lord was back.

They sat up bolt upright and watched their own bedroom door. They hadn’t even closed it.

As carefully as they could, Charlie crept over to the door so Ghirahim wouldn’t notice them. They were _just_ about to close completely when to their horror, it loudly squeaked.

“Charlie?”

_Dammit._

“Yeah, what do you want?” They said, hoping he’d eventually just leave him alone.

“Nothing, other than I’d like to say hi to you.”

“Can’t. I’m tired.”

They heard Ghirahim huff.

“And you can’t even be asked to come over and give me a kiss hello? The nerve of you, Charlie.”

“ _God damn sword_.” They grumbled under their breath. Putting both hands behind their back, they walked out with Moncéri following close behind.

Ghirahim was readjusting his papers into neat piles on his desk in his usual, colour-coordinated manner.

Sensing Charlie behind him, he turned around with a smile.

“Finally I get to see that lovely face of yours.”

“You saw me this morning.”

“I _know_ that, but-” he suddenly stopped mid sentence, his smile quickly fading. He put his papers down and walked over to them.

“Charlie, have you been crying?”

“No.” They turned away from Ghirahim, only to feel him place a hand under their chin and pull them back to face him. He brought his face close to theirs.

“Did someone upset you? It wasn’t that blasted Leech again, was it?”

“N-no. I just. Might have had a dumb whoopsie when walking Moncéri.”

“Oh?” Ghirahim removed his hand. “Did you fall over and hurt yourself? She didn’t bite you, did she?” He gave Moncéri a warning glare that she backed away from.

“ _God no_ , nothing to do with Momo. I just got stung is all. Nothing serious.”

Ghirahim tilted his head.

“May I see?”

Charlie stood still for a moment, then slowly revealed their hand to him. It was still as red and angry as they remembered. Ghirahim’s eyes widened in surprise.

“My _God_ Charlie, what did this to you?”

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“What stung you, Charlie? Tell me.” His tone was now serious and they knew they couldn’t ignore him when he spoke like that. They took a deep breath.

“It was only a red wasp. Nothing crazy.”

“Red wasp?” Ghirahim looked up, clearly worried.

“Yeah. What about it?”

Ghirahim said nothing and instead practically sprinted to the chest of drawers, grabbing clothes and throwing them to the ground.

“HEY! That’s my stuff!” Charlie growled, but Ghirahim ignored them.

He must have gone through three whole drawers before finally finding what he was after: a small sack with a drawstring at the top.

“What’s that?”

“A special bag I had made for emergencies.” He turned around and walked up to them. “That wasp is a rare but deadly breed. Never thought I’d hear of it showing up in my lifetime.”

Charlie winced.

“Is it going to kill me?”

“No, but it can affect nerves in the body if not treated properly.”

“How do you treat it?”

“Well, first I need to get a scalpel and cut into your skin so the poison can escape, then-”

“ _A scalpel!_ Are you kidding me? You’re not going near me with that.”

Ghirahim blinked, surprised.

“How do you expect me to treat you? Do you _want_ to sit there for a week in pain?”

“No, but-“

“Then sit down and let me cut you open.”

At that Moncéri started growling and placed herself between the two, her body pressed right up against Charlie.

Ghirahim rolled his eyes.

“Of course you pick _that_ up.” He groaned. He walked over to the couch that sat by the balcony and began to empty the bag’s contents. Charlie felt Moncéri when she spied the scalpel he’d mentioned.

“It’s only a small cut. I’m not going to remove your arm.”

Charlie didn’t budge.

“I’ll sleep it off, it’s fine. I’ve been stung before, anyway.”

“Not like this, you haven’t.”

Charlie puffed out their chest.

“You are _NOT_ using that on me. Just give me some tablets or something-”

“NO!” Ghirahim said suddenly, standing up. “You are going to sit here and I am going to look after you. Is that not my job?”

He took a step forward, still holding the scalpel, throwing Moncéri into hysterics. She snapped and hissed, necks arched like a cat’s back with all her sharp spines on display. Charlie half-expected her to pounce on him right then and there. At that, he returned to the couch and put the scalpel down.

“That’s enough, Momo. I’m not going to hurt Charlie.”

Despite Ghirahim’s calm tone, Moncéri continued to growl aggressively at him.

“Moncéri, _ENOUGH_ !” Ghirahim shouted so loudly and suddenly he made both Charlie and Moncéri freeze. He pointed to the front door. “ _Out._ Go to Izanagi.”

Moncéri looked to Charlie, to Ghirahim, then back to Charlie. She started to whine, only for Ghirahim to shush her.

“ _Moncéri._ Do as you’re told.” He walked over to the door and opened it.

With heads lowered and very clearly embarrassed by her outburst, Moncéri proceeded with the walk of shame to the front door. Before passing through the doorway she looked up at Ghirahim with a wide eyes in a pitiful plea to stay, but he ignored her.

Once outside, Ghirahim closed the door behind her and locked it, shaking his head.

“Staldras...” He muttered under his breath, then turned to Charlie.

“Now it’s just you and I.” He said.

“I’m still not letting you near me.” Charlie grumbled.

“And have your body ache for an entire week? Where you struggle to do even the most simple things like eat or drink?” It was obvious he was trying to hold himself back from yelling again, but Charlie couldn’t help but tense up once more and recoil.

“I can look after myself!” They snapped suddenly, making Ghirahim jump.

However, he quickly recovered and leaned over them like he was about to discipline them for talking back.

“Maybe I care about you and your safety! Have you ever considered that?!” He snapped back, pointing at them accusingly.

Charlie looked at him, dumbfounded. His question had caught them completely off guard.

“I-” They started, but immediately trailed off when Ghirahim interrupted them.

“I don’t care how stubborn you can, I am going to help you regardless. Even if I have to pin you down and you want to spend the next half hour screaming at me to get lost.”

He sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to him.

“Now _please,_ will you sit down because if I have to hear you complain about that wasp once more, I will put tape over your mouth and leave it there for the rest of the evening.”

Embarrassed at how quickly Ghirahim had silenced them, Charlie did as they were told, sitting next to them and holding out their right hand for him.

He took it in a firm grip and turned his back to them, carefully looking through the medical bag for the correct utensils.

“Like I said before, I’m going to have to use a scalpel first, so try not to struggle unless you want to lose a finger.”

Charlie tensed but remained as still as they could, jaw clenched so tightly they were amazed their teeth didn’t shatter.

With calm precision, Ghirahim placed the blade over the sting and pressed down, making Charlie wince when they felt a small trickle of blood escape from the wound. Ghirahim cleaned it with a cold, wet wipe and then started to place what Charlie thought were strange spices, judging by the smell, around the cut.

“What are you doing?” They asked, trying to look but were unable to as Ghirahim held them firmly in place.

“Drawing the poison out.” He said without turning his head, applying more and more spice that was so overpowering it made Charlie’s eyes water.

“Do you have to use so much?!”

“Yes.” He replied matter-of-factly. “I want to make sure I get it all out.” He turned his head slightly to face them. “Obviously this is the long part.”

 _No kidding._ Charlie thought, closing their eyes and resting their head against his back.

The two sat there in silence as the minutes ticked by, with Ghirahim every now and again cleaning Charlie’s hand and reapplying the spices.

To keep themselves from complaining about how much their eyes were watering, they tried to focus on his steady breathing as they leaned against him. It was oddly soothing and already they could feel themselves starting to doze off. The pain of the sting had started to subside and was now nearly non-existent.

_Guess he does know what he’s doing._

They lifted their head up slightly and opened their eyes.

“Ghirahim?”

“Yes?”

“You… Know how you said you care about me?”

“Mmm?”

“Did you mean it?”

Ghirahim stopped what he was doing and looked over his shoulder at them.

“Of course I did.” He turned back to his task. “You forced my hand so I had to say something. And it seemed like the right thing at the time.”

Charlie tilted their head.

“What makes you say that?”

“Because you started blushing after I said it.”

Immediately Charlie felt their face grow hot and turned away, cheeks burning.

“S-so?” They said, trying to prevent their voice from squeaking awkwardly. “Anyone would blush if they were told ‘I care about you’ or ‘I love you’ by someone.”

Ghirahim laughed at that.

“Even so, it’s not like you, of all people, are the type to let your emotions show.”

Charlie gulped.

“Maybe it meant something to me.” They said, then started blushing again.

Ghirahim let go of their hand and turned to face them properly, clearly puzzled.

“Really? Despite the fact we’re together?”

“Well, I-” Charlie looked away, raising a hand to cover their face. “Being with someone versus saying your feelings is a different matter, you know. And… I don’t know… Maybe I liked it when you said it.”

Ghirahim gave a half-laugh.

“Maybe I should say it more often then. If it will make you listen to me.”

Charlie removed their hand and looked at him from the corner of their eye.

“You could. It’s just… I didn’t really expect to hear that. I never thought someone would ever say that to me.”

Ghirahim paused, then sighed playfully to himself. He wrapped an arm around them and pulled them close.

“Do you want to know something, Charlie?” He said softly.

“What?”

“You may be more stubborn than a mule at times and even if you do sometimes drive me up the wall because of it, I know that’s just who you are. I’m sure you’d describe me the same way, correct?”

A small smile appeared on Charlie’s face.

“Maybe, yeah.”

“But,” he started, returning Charlie’s smile with his own, “I want you to know it’s OK if you have to ask for my help sometimes. I’m here for you and I promise, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Unless Demise says otherwise, of course.”

Ghirahim rolled his eyes.

“I’m trying to be nice to you, you know?”

Charlie grinned.

“I know.” They leaned up and lightly kissed him on the cheek. “And I appreciate it. Promise.”

“Good.” Ghirahim kissed them on the cheek as well and hummed, making Charlie giggle. Then, he let go of them and stood up, grabbing the wet cloth once more.

“Now, give me your hand. I can’t have you going to bed covered in spices. You’ll ruin the sheets.”


End file.
